Risk and Government Ethics

Thinking in terms of risk is a great way not to take responsibility
for your actions, including your inactions. As soon as you start
thinking about the chances that, overall, you might win or lose from
a transaction, you have begun thinking in terms of your personal
interest. This makes it very difficult to think in terms of the
public interest.<br>
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You have also begun thinking in terms of consequences rather than in
terms of rules. And it is rules, not consequences, that underlie the
philosophy of a government ethics program. The reason government
ethics is rules-based is that the obligations of government
officials derive from their fiduciary duty to the community. Duties are not about
consequences, but about following rules.<br>
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When someone else is doing something risky, it is easy to justify
doing nothing by noting that your colleague is taking a risk, and
it's up to her to determine how risky she thinks her actions are. This thought
process replaces thinking in terms of fiduciary duty. And this
thought process is most likely to lead to inaction, rather than
providing useful advice or discussion, recommending that the colleague seek ethics
advice, or reporting the colleague's misconduct.<br>
<br>
Another's risk-taking is her matter. But another's possible
violation of an ethics provision creates a duty to try to prevent misconduct or, if the attempt fails,
report it.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
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